Jemima Kirke Opens Up About Her Abortion

In a new PSA, the Girls star tells her story.

In a new PSA for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Girls actress Jemima Kirke shares the story of her own abortion in 2007. "I've always felt that reproductive issues should be something that women should be able to talk to freely, especially amongst each other," she says. "I still see shame and embarrassment around terminating pregnancies."

In the video, she details the obstacles that she faced herself (essentially emptying her bank account in order to undergo the procedure) and how her own experience is an example of the misconceptions many of us have regarding abortion. "It's these obstacles and this stigma that make these things not completely unavailable, and that's the tricky part—we think we do have free choice and we are able to do whatever we want, but there are these hoops that we have to jump through to get them," she says.

Now a mother to two girls, she worries about the obstacles her daughter and stepdaughter might have to face surrounding reproductive rights in the future. "I would hate to see them having to fight for rights over their bodies as well," she says.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Marie Claire participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.